Decoding Cancer Season

by Barry Kerr, evolutionary astrologer 

 

The Sun moves into Cancer on June 20/21

The Moon rules the sign of Cancer. The Moon reflects our soul’s core intention to incarnate as human: emotions. Cancer completes the first set of elements in the journey around the zodiac: Aries/fire/inspiration, Taurus/earth/physicality, Gemini/air/mental awareness and now Cancer/water/feelings. From the illusion of separation at birth, we develop our ego’s sense of self, place and relationship in our environment. Given only that, we could get lost in the illusion; thus the need for emotions. It is our emotional experiences that lead us to our heart and thus to the less logical, more intuitive understanding of who we really are, beyond our ego.

 

In Cancer, our Moon feels the underlying divine connections we have to other souls: parents, siblings, family, etc. These feelings create bonds of affection and sentiment, longings for connection, as well as fear and sadness around a lack of connection. To our rational Mercury mind, this is all very messy and unnecessary and can often appear as a threat to the survival of our ego. Yet, in our emotions, we learn there is a powerful synergy in certain of our relationships that somehow adds to our sense of self rather than detracts. This, we call love.

 

 

 

The sign and house your Moon is in will reflect the way you experience and process your emotions, the themes that most often trigger your feelings, and the way you create emotional security for yourself.  For example, a Moon in Aries/3rd house is most likely triggered in situations involving miscommunications or assertion of ideas. If emotionally upset, she will choose to be alone, to write, or read or think things through.  A Moon in Scorpio/11th house is more likely triggered by a feeling of emotional vulnerability and will recoup by staying hidden, while supporting others. Understanding these personality tendencies in our self and in those we love can go a long way toward helping us to love our self and each other more effectively.

 

When we care for, nurture, and protect each other, not only do we increase our capacity for physical survival, but at some deep subliminal level we experience the reality beyond the illusion of our five senses, namely, that in spirit, we are all one. Indeed, that which we experience and call love is what we are. The intensity of our familial relationships testifies to this truth.

 

Thus, it is in Cancer, through our Moon, that we begin the process of “remembering” our greater soul self, our heritage in a family of souls, connecting to the love around us and within us. Through this emotional “rebirth” we are better prepared for the next phase of our human journey, which in Leo, is to shine the loving and passionate light of our Sun, as a unique child of divine creation.  However, if our inner Moon is wounded, emotional insecurity and aloneness will follow us, obscuring and distorting the light of our star.

 

In the first quarter of the zodiac, we establish the individual self in the physical world and begin to turn our attention outward. We then notice others and our need to feel connection and belonging. Oh Cancer! – I need love.

 

Our inner Moon is our emotional self. Feeling, knowing, and sharing our emotions all fall under the realm of the Moon and Cancer. Because our mother and family are typically our first opportunity to feel nurtured and loved, they are a prominent theme. It is in this stage of development, that we learn how to receive and give love, how to belong to a family and tribe. In a world that appears to be all about separation and survival, establishing a bond of loving care with others is primary to our ego’s ability to remain stable and navigate the challenges that life in the greater world will present. Maintaining healthy emotional bonds with family and tribe are essential survival tools in the physical world.

 

Learning to swim in the watery lake of emotions and feelings is paramount if we are to succeed in the much greater challenges to the ego that will play out down the road in the intimate and raging rivers of Scorpio and the confusing mysteries of oceanic Pisces. For our ego to eventually transcend the fears that worldly illusions create, we must have at least a taste of the unconditional love that originates from the universal, divine mother source. To whatever extent our earthly mother and family may have channeled such love to us, or not, Cancer and the Moon will repeatedly provide us opportunities to nurture our emotional security and wholeness until we know we are always loved.

 

When conscious, our Cancer notices and validates feelings, our own and others, without judgment and we feel empathetic, supportive and nurturing. From a foundation of emotional security, we can disclose our feelings and insecurities. We can stay centered in our feelings, not fleeing them, and be comfortable with others’ feelings. Our unconscious Cancer can be overly dependent, clingy, moody, insecure, fearful, stuck in the past, avoiding risks and controlling of others through emotional overreactions.

 

 

Good Cancer Questions To Ask Yourself

To heal and evolve your Cancer self, pay attention to your emotions. Can you allow yourself to feel and share them? Do you even know what they are telling you? Or do you avoid them, stuff them, “postpone” them? Can you be present to “negative” emotional expression in others without rescuing or fixing? Do you feel unworthy of being loved or giving love? Is that guilt?

 

Good Cancer Activities

Give yourself time to feel whatever you feel. Cry. Cry some more. Throw some pillows around if you feel angry. Scream out loud.  Let whatever is there come to the surface, without need for analysis. Just let it be. Share some tender feelings with someone you trust. Notice other people’s emotions more and ask about them.

 

 

The sun is in Cancer June 21 – July 22, what does that mean for your sign?

 

At this point in the cycle of our journey through the zodiac, Cancer brings our attention to our emotional needs, as represented by the Moon in our birth chart. This is the first of the water signs, and just as the physical moon pulls on the earth’s oceans to create tidal forces, so our inner Moon tugs at the feeling frequencies created by our ego’s subliminal longing to return to the fullness of our soul’s field of unconditional love. Our earliest experiences of parental and family nurturing, or lack of it, determine deep subconscious patterns around our emotional needs and expressions. Positive and healthy family and nurturing relationships can provide a foundation that strengthens our capacity to give and receive love and care, thus attuning us to the higher frequencies of spiritual love, but ultimately it is not enough. Our many lifetimes of being human have destined all of us with repeating episodes of emotional, disappointment, pain and healing, and in the process have challenged us to return our awareness to our most reliable source of unconditional love…that of divine spirit through our souls.

 

Look below for your birth sign (sun sign) to see what particular challenges/opportunities are being brought to your awareness this month. (These can also hold true if you have your Moon, Rising sign or a number of planets in the sign.)

 

Aries (Mar 21 – Apr 19):

 

 

  

Taurus (Apr 20 – May 20):

Creating security is a big part of your ego’s perspective in this lifetime, Taurus. That’s why you are drawn to increasing your resources by making money and accumulating what you value. For you, more than most people, this feels good and is good. During this month of Cancer, do a reality check around your values as they pertain to your emotional life. Money, food and other material pleasures may not be meeting the totality of your security needs. Are you being nurtured and nurturing your loved ones? If not, you risk drifting into material greed and decadence. Share some of that abundance and pleasure with others.

 

 

 

Gemini (May 21 – June 20):

Gemini, you may notice during this month that you feel a stronger than usual draw to talking with family members, or at least thinking about them. Bring your natural curiosity and need for mental stimulation to an intention to learn more about emotional dynamics, your own, in others, and in relationship. The challenge here will be to relax your restless mind enough to also feel into the emotional frequencies that are present. If you can do this, your mind will be rewarded with rich insights and your heart with wisdom.

 

 

 

Cancer (June 21 – July 22):

 

This is your month, Cancer. Now, more than ever, it’s important you embrace the soft, vulnerable, and sensitive sides of your personality. At times, those parts of you can feel out of place, under-valued by the society, and even embarrassing. Use this time to increase your ego’s ability to claim the positive intentions of these attributes. The world needs more people who can reveal the value of feelings and offer emotional nurturing to others. And during Cancer, others are feeling it.

 

 

 

Leo (July 23 - Aug 22):

OK, Leo. Time to shine your bright, solar light onto your inner Moon, letting it reflect your softer qualities into the playful nurturing of those around you. Children (including “inner children), cooking, cooperative activities, family stories, and such can feel very fulfilling to you. To the extent you are feeling emotionally nurtured and secure in yourself, you can nurture others by modeling how to take center stage with joyful confidence and then encourage them to do the same.

 

 

Virgo (Aug 23 – Sep 22):

In this Cancer month, Virgo, the invitation for you is to direct your natural inclinations for service and order down into your heart and follow the feelings that will guide you toward nurturing others and your self in practical ways. For yourself, how do your habits and routines reflect on your emotional health? If needed, can you ask for help without judging yourself? For others, can you offer your practical services and logical outlook in ways that others feel nurtured and affirmed?

 

 

Libra (Sep 23 – Oct 22):

Your natural tendencies toward supporting others can easily channel this month’s Cancer warmth and caring into all your primary relationships, especially a partnership. Just be careful not to smother your loved-one. Others need to take some responsibility for their emotional health. By the same token, during this time you might feel more need to be nurtured by your relationship(s). Feel free to ask for that, but be ready to reach into your own inner resource of self-love to maintain balance.  

 

 

 

Scorpio (Oct 23 – Nov 21):

Like Cancer, Scorpio is a water sign and resonates with the emotional, feeling frequencies. During this time, Scorpio, you might feel more protective of those things you share with a loved one, whether it be money, things, values, time or sexual intimacy. This is because you associate those with your own emotional security. If things get intense, the opportunity is to be aware of what you are feeling and share your concerns about your needs. Remember, change is your friend.

 

 

Sagittarius (Nov 22 – Dec 21):  

Your usual flair for adventure, exploration and travel may be distracted by a need for home and family, creating some sentimentality. Consider including a familial love-one in your adventures, but be ready to slow down or yield direction. Likewise, your penchant for exploring philosophical and metaphysical beliefs might cause concern for creating unintended chasms with loved-ones. Maybe this is a good time to invite a deeper dialogue with open-minded loved ones. The trick is to not preach or be “right”, but rather lean into the bonds of love while acknowledging any differences in opinion.

 

 

 

Capricorn (Dec 22 – Jan 19):

Capricorn is opposite Cancer in the zodiac. Therefore, Capricorn, you may feel the polarized tugs inside yourself, one toward your worldly role in society and career and the other toward your family responsibilities. This is a time for leaning into the family and nurturing side. Beyond family, at work, pay attention to the emotional dynamics around your colleagues, your clients and yourself. You typically run roughshod over those, so use this time to offer some sensitivity.

 

 

Aquarius (Jan 20 – Feb 18): 

Your ordinary emotional aloofness toward your network of friends and associates, may, during this Cancer month, slip into a more sentimental mode. In fact, more than usual, they could feel like your true family. If you realize this, take time to open your heart and offer moments of emotional connection and nurturing to those you value. It’s also important that you invite some of your social contacts and friends into your home, where your heart may be more accessible.

 

 

Pisces (Feb 19 – Mar 20): 

As the third water sign, Pisces resonates with emotions and feelings from a collective perspective. Pisces, your heightened sensitivity to others’ feelings makes this month of Cancer especially challenging. This is a good time to apply discernment to the influence of your childhood family on your present emotional patterns so that you do not project them onto those around you who may be acting out familiar roles. At your best, you can bring true soul compassion to nurture those around you and yourself.

 

 

 

 

Note about zodiac dates: The dates associated with the signs of the zodiac are based on averages, since in any given year the exact ingresses can range from the 19th to the 22nd. They also vary depending on the time zone in which you were born. If you're unsure of your sign, you can obtain your chart at astrology.com. 

 

Barry Kerr, a certified soul-based astrologer, has 33 years of experience with an international clientele, including many medical professionals and alternative healers. He and Kristine Gay, a licensed psychotherapist, are owners/practitioners at Inner Essence Center in Madison. Both have extensive training in soul-guided healing of mind, body, heart and spiritual systems. They offer healing, coaching, therapy and astrology services. Visit www.ChooseConsciousLiving.com for more information.